Flat pin pallet

ABSTRACT

A pin pallet for a timepiece escapement comprises a pallet plate stamped from thin sheet material and having a pair of laterally spaced openings, a pin member comprising a U-shaped wire being bonded to said plate with its arms extending through said openings to constitute the pins.

United States Patent [191 Davoine 1 Jan.9,1973

[54] FLAT PIN PALLET [75] Inventor: Georges Davoine, Le Locle, Switzerland [73] Assignee: Les Fabriques dAssortiments Reunies, Le Locle, Switzerland 22 Filed: March9, 1971 21 Appl.No.: 122,354

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data March 12, 1970 Switzerland ..3670/70 [52] [1.8. CI. ..58/121 R [51] Int. Cl. ..G04b 15/08 [58] Field of Search ..58/116 R, 121 R; 74/15 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,248,783 5/1966 Tuetey ..58/121 R 440,441 11/1890 Schwartz ..58/116RX 2,099,414 11/1937 Whitehead ..58/l21 R 2,717,488 9/1955 Linard 3,034,286 5/1962 Bourquin 3,425,212 2/1969 Verde ..58/116 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 757,820 10/1933 France ..58/1l6 R 837,221 4/1952 Germany ....58/121 R 243,142 12/1946 Switzerland ....58/121 R 462,730 10/1968 Switzerland ....58/l16 R Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-Stanley A. Wal Attorney-Imirie & Smiley [57] ABSTRACT A pin pallet for a timepiece escapement comprises a pallet plate stamped from thin sheet material and having a pair of laterally spaced openings, a pin member comprising a U-shaped wire being bonded to said plate with its arms extending through said openings to constitute the pins;

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAH 9 1975 FIG.2

FIG.1

INVENTOR .DAvoiNE FLAT PIN PALLET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The principal difficulty in the fabrication of the pallet for a pin-pallet escapement resides in the positioning of the two metallic pins which have very small diameters. These pins usuallyhave diameters of 0.08 to 0.10 mm. To enable driving these pins into holes in the pallet, their top parts must have a minimum diameter of 0.25 mm. Nevertheless, this operation is still delicate. Because of the small dimensions of the pin, their positioning is difficult, even in the more or less automatic assembling devices that are used today. In addition, the diameter of 0.25mm of the part which is driven into the pallet, generally is greater than to the thickness of the pallet, so that the depth of the hole in the pallet is smaller than the diameter, which increases the uncertainty of the correct position of the pin in respect to the plane of the pallet.

For this reason, a pallet has been proposed, which is made from a metallic wire, but, with regard to the pallet proposed by the present invention, it is used as a jewelled and not as apin-pallet. Moreover, this construction is used in a wall clock and has the disadvantage of working only once during an oscillation.

A different known construction describes a pin-pallet made from metallic wire, which, with respect to the present invention, leads to a reduction of the noise of a time piece, by using a pallet with elastic arms. This has the disadvantageof a much more complicated and expensive fabrication than in the case of the execution proposed by the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention describes a flat pallet plate having two laterally spaced openings constituted by holes or notches in the arms of the pallet plate, and the two pins which are fixed inthose holes, openings or notches consist in the bent parts of a metallic wire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to one embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, the pallet consists in a thin blanked plate 1 and a straight piece of wire 2 bent into U-shape and whose extremities or arms 3 and 4 are at right angles to the bight portion and constitute the pins. These extremities are introduced through openings constituted by holes in the pallet and which are of slightly greater diameter that that of the pins. Afterwards, the wire 2 is fixed by bonding such as soldering or cementing, for example its bight portion, to the adjacent side of the pallet.

It is also possible to cut openings 5 through the pallet 1 (FIG. 2) which have a polygonal or, e.g., a triangular form and to bend a wire having a bight portion 6, to obtain a spring effect, so that each functional extremity is pressed adjacent an angle of said openings 5, so that they are situated with precision, before they are fixed definitively by soldering or cementing. The pins are formed by the extremities 7 and 8 of the wire 6.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 3, a wire, having a bight portion 9, is soldered into notches 10 in the pallet 1" the pins being constituted by the extremities 11 and 12 of the wire 9, which are bent at right angles.

What I claim is:

l. A pin pallet for a timepiece escapement, comprisa pallet plate blanked from thin sheet material having a pair of laterally spaced openings therethrough;

a pin member constituted by a U-shaped wire including a bight portion of a length to span the distance between said openings and substantially parallel arms substantially perpendicular to said bight portion;

said pin member being mounted on said plate with its arms extending through said openings to constitute pins and its bight portion engaging one surface of said plate, and

means bonding said pin member to said plate with said bight portion reinforcing said pins. 2. A pin pallet according to claim 1 wherein: said openings comprise circular holes of a diameter sufficient to freely admit insertion of said pins, and

5. A pallet according to claim 4, wherein theex tremities of the wire which form the pins, are pressed-in at an angle of said polygonal openings of the pallet by the spring effect of the wire, before they are fixed definitively to the pallet by bonding.

6. A pin pallet according to claim 1 wherein:

said openings comprise notches in the edges of said plate, and

said means bonding said pin member to said plate at said notches.

7. A pin pallet for a timepiece escapement, comprismg a a pallet plate blanked from thin sheetmaterial having a pair of laterally spaced openings therethrough: a pin member constituted by a U-shaped wire including a bight portion of a length to span the distance between said openings and substantially parallel arms substantially perpendicular to said bight portion; the thickness of said plate being less than that of said wire, a

said pin member being mounted on said plate with its arms extending through said openings to constitute pins and its bight portion engaging one surface of said plate, and

means bonding said pin member to said plate with said bight portion reinforcing said pins.

s a l 

1. A pin pallet for a timepiece escapement, comprising: a pallet plate blanked from thin sheet material having a pair of laterally spaced openings therethrough; a pin member constituted by a U-shaped wire including a bight portion of a length to span the distance between said openings and substantially parallel arms substantially perpendicular to said bight portion; said pin member being mounted on said plate with its arms extending through said openings to constitute pins and its bight portion engaging one surface of said plate, and means bonding said pin member to said plate with said bight portion reinforcing said pins.
 2. A pin pallet according to claim 1 wherein: said openings comprise circular holes of a diameter sufficient to freely admit insertion of said pins, and said means bonding said bight portion to said plate surface.
 3. A pin pallet according to claim 1 wherein: said openings comprise holes of polygonal configuration and each including an angle at a point remote from the other hole, said pins being seated respectively in said angles, and said means bonding said bight portion to said plate surface.
 4. A pin pallet according to claim 3 wherein: said pin member comprises a wire spring with the length of its bight portion between said angles sufficient to press its arms into said angles.
 5. A pallet according to claim 4, wherein the extremities of the wire which form the pins, are pressed-in at an angle of said polygonal openings of the pallet by the spring effect of the wire, before they are fixed definitively to the pallet by bonding.
 6. A pin pallet according to claim 1 wherein: said openings comprise notches in the edges of said plate, and said means bonding said pin member to said plate at said notches.
 7. A pin pallet for a timepiece escapement, comprising a pallet plate blanked from thin sheet material having a pair of laterally spaced openings therethrough: a pin member constituted by a U-shaped wire including a bight portion of a length to span the distance between said openings and substantially parallel arms substantially perpendicular to said bight portion; the thickness of said plate being less than that of said wire, said pin member being mounted on said plate with its arms extending through said openings to constitute pins and its bight portion engaging one surface of said plate, and means bonding said pin member to said plate with said bight portion reinforcing said pins. 